Striping apparatus



y 1956 J. G. STONE, JR., ETAL 2,756,718

STRIPING APPARATUS Filed April 13, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 :9, m/Zw A TTORNEY rJlu'ly 1956 J. G. STONE, JR.. ETAL 2,756,718

STRIPING APPARATUS Filed April 13, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /7 Z If J5 J719m iZJLw ATTORNEY y 1956 .1. G. STONE, JR, ETAL 2,756,718

STRIPING APPARATUS Filed April 13. 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 -19 flazZ/wATTO RNEY United States Patent 2,756,718 STRIPING APPARATUS John G.Stone, Jr., Bristol, R. L, and William S. Busch, Levitto.wn, N. Y.,assignors to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., acorporation of New Jersey Application April 13, 1953, Serial No. 348,254'2 Claims. Cl. 113-412 This invention relates to striping apparatus forapplying stripes to the insulation or jacket of electric wires, cables,or other elongated articles, such as, tubes, rods, threads, etc.

It is common practice to provide straight or spiral colored stripes onwires for decorative or identification purposes and various types ofinks have been used for this. purpose. It has been proposed to usecolored latex as the striping fluid for striping latex. or rubberinsulated wires so that upon curing, the stripes will be chemically andphysically bonded to the insulation of the wires.

In attempting to. apply latex stripes tov wires especially byconventional, spiral striping apparatus, difiiculty has been experienceddue to clogging of the apparatus by coagulation of the latex. Thiscoagulation is apparently due, to the shearing action on the latex as itis applied and/or centrifugal separation of the latex solids and water.

One object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide stripingapparatus. which eliminates or materially reduces the problem. ofcoagulation of the latex and will uniformly and eificientl'y apply one.or more spiral or straight latex stripes to. insulated wires. or otherelongated articles.

Another object is. to provide striping apparatus which will permit knotsor splices in the wire or elongated article to pass. through the.apparatus without stopping the apparatus.

Another object is to provide a rotary type striping apparatusincorporating a. novel continuous feed. system for the striping fluidsso that rotation of the apparatus need not. be stopped to replenish.the. striping, fluid.

A still further object is to provide striping apparatus of simpleconstruction which may be easily operated, maintained and cleaned andwhich may be used to apply either a latex or conventional solvent basedink striping fluid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following description when read in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional, elevational view of the. striping apparatus ofthe invention;

Fig. 2-. is an elevational view, partly in section, taken atv rightangles to the view of Fig. 1;,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig- 1;

Fig- 4 is a plan. view of the apparatus of the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a. sectional view taken on the. line. 5-5. of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings and in particular to- Fig. 1 of the drawings,the striping apparatus of the present invention includes a platform 10.The platform is threaded on the end of a hollow shaft 11 and is securedthereto by means of a set screw 12. Shaft 11, in turn, is rotatablymounted in bearings 13 and 14 carried respectively by suitablestationary supporting framework members 15 and 16.. A pulley 17 issecured, to the shaft 2,756,718 Patented July 31, 1956 11 between thebearings 13 and 14 by means of aset screw 18. The pulley 17 is adaptedto be driven through a belt 19 by suitable driving means (not shown) torotate the shaft 11 and the platform 10 secured thereto about a verticalaxis.

The platform 10" is provided with an opening 20 which is concentric withthe axis of rotation of the platform 10, through which a wire W to bestriped may be continuously fed in the direction of the'arrow by meanswell known in the art (not shown).

Mounted on. the upper side of the platform 10 at spaced points aroundthe opening. 20 are tubular shaped striping pens 21', 22 and 23 whichextend, as best shown in Fig. 3, toward the wire W but do not contactthe wire and by which the. stripes are applied to the insulation of thewire W. Spacing of pens around opening 20 may be equal or unequal,depending upon desired spacing of stripes. Three pens are shown but itis to be understood that a greater or less number of pens can be used asdesired. A different colored striping fluid may be supplied to each penso that three different colored stripes may be applied. to the wire W..By rotating the platformv 1-0 and. continuously feeding the wire W inthedirection of the arrow, the wire W may be spirally striped asshown inFig. 1.. Variation in relative speed of rotation of platform 10 and ofvertical speed of wire W permits change in length of lay of stripes. Ifplatform 10 is not rotated, straight stripes may be. applied. Byreversing rotation of platform 10, direction of stripe lay may also bereversed- Each of the pens- 21, 22. and 23 and the mountings thereforare identical. and a description of pen 21 will, therefore, suffice forall.- As best shown in Fig. 1, the pen 21 is in the form of a tubehaving a bore 24 through which the striping fluid is allowed to pass.The pen 21 is necked down adjacent. to the. applicating end 25: thereofto thereby restrict the bore 24. at this point to give the desired rate.offlow of thestriping fluid; The remainder of the. bore. 24. may be madequite large to facilitate cleaning thereof...

The tip. 26: of the applicating end 25 is: concaved tothe approximate.cylindrical contour of. the. wire W asv best shown in Fig. 3, so. thatthe clearance between the. tip 26 andthe. cover of. thewireW issubstantially uniform across the. full width of the: tip. The pen. 21 isslidably mounted in a sleeve 27: so. that it can be adjusted towards andaway from thewire W.. A small clearance between pen. 21 andwire: W mustbe maintained to avoid severe shearing action: onthe latex. andresulting coagulation thereof Av screw or key 28 is threaded through.the wall of the sleeve 27 and the end thereof engages in an elongatedkey way 29. formed in the' exteriorsurface of: the pen 21- to. therebypermitaxial adjustment of the pen 21 but prevent rotation. of theconcave tip. 26 of. the pen 21 out of proper alignment with the wire W.The pen- 21 is provided with external. threads 30 adjacent the. endthereof. remote. from the applicator end 25 and an. adjusting nut31..is. threaded: thereon. Nut 31 is keyed. to

sleeve 27 by a. set screw 32. which engages. anannular key way 33 formedin the hub' 34 of the nut 31-. Rotation of nut,.3:1-, therefore,servesto. adjust the pen 2'1 axially: with respect-to thesleeve. 27towards and away from thew-ire W.

The sleeve 27 isattached to the. end of a legv 35 of an L-shaped arm 36.Arm 3.6. is pivotally attached to. an L-shaped bracket. 37 by, meansofa-pivot pin. 38. Bracket 37 is positioned in a radial slot 39 in theupper surface of the platform 10 and is held in place by a stud 40 whichextends through a leg v41 of bracket 37. The stud 40 is secured to theleg 41 intermediate its ends by a pin 42; The lower'threaded end 4'4'ofthe stud 40 extends; through an opening 43 through the platform 10.

The opening 43 is somewhat larger in diameter than the stud 40 to permitadjustment of the bracket 37 in the slot 39. A nut 45 threaded on theend 44 of the stud 40 serves to clamp the bracket 37 in the slot 39. Itcan be seen, therefore, that by removing the nut 45 the bracket 37, arm36, sleeve 27, and striping pen 21 may be re- 'the upper end 46 of thestud 40 and is held partially compressed between the upper face of theleg 41 of the bracket 37 and the lower face of the leg 48 of the arm 36.The spring 51, therefore, serves to urge the arm 36 and the pen 21secured thereto towards the wire W to the extent permitted by the nuts50; and allows the arm 36 to pivot away from the wire W to permit a knotor splice of the wire W to pass through the apparatus without jammingand to allow the striping operation to resume after the knot has passed.Each of the other pens 22 and 23 is similarly constructed and mounted onthe platform 10. It will be noted that the pens 21, 22 and 23 extend atan angle toward the wire to facilitate the pivotal movement thereof awayfrom the wire W when the tips thereof are engaged by a knot or splice.

As best shown in Fig. 2, two freely rotatable, grooved guide rollers 51and 52 are also mounted on the platform 10 on diametrically oppositesides thereof. The rollers 51 and 52 engage the wire just below thepoint of application of the stripes by the pens 21, 22 and 23 andthereby assure that the Wires are properly centered with respect to thepens. The rollers 51 and 52 are rotatably secured, respectively, to oneend of each of two generally L-shaped arms 53 and 54. The arms 53 and 54are pivotally attached to L-shaped brackets 55 and 56 which in turn arepositioned in slots 57 and 58 formed in the upper surface of theplatform 10. The brackets 55 and 56 are held in the slots in a mannersimilar to that described in conjunction with the bracket 37, by studs59 and 60 secured thereto by pins 61 and 62. Nuts 63 and 64 threaded onthe lower ends of the studs 59 and 60 serve to clamp the brackets 55 and56 in the slots 57 and 58 and nuts 65 and 66 threaded on the upper endsof the studs 59 and 60 serve to limit the pivotal movement of the arms53 and 54 toward the wire W. Compression springs 67 and 68 urge the arms53 and 54 and the rollers 51 and 52 secured to the ends thereof towardthe wire W and allow the arms 53 and 54 to pivot away from the wire W toallow a knot or splice in the wire W to pass through the apparatus.

As best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, three posts 69, 70 and 71 are securedto and extend vertically upwardly from the platform 10 and support areservoir member 72. The member 72 has formed in the upper face thereofthree co-planar concentric, annular grooves 73, 74 and 75, providingthree striping fluid reservoirs for supplying striping fluid by gravityto each of the pens 21, 22 and 23. The grooves 73, 74 and 75 areconcentric with the axis of rotation of the platform 10. Separateconduits 76, 77 and 78 connect reservoir grooves 73, 74 and 75 with pens21, 22 and 23 respectively. In this manner, a different colored stripingfluid may be supplied simultaneously to each pen. The member 72 has anopening 79 in the center thereof through which the wire W may pass.

As best shown in Fig. 1, vertically extending members 80 and 81 aresecured to stationary framework member 16 on each side of the platform10. Secured to the upper ends of the members 80 and 81 is a stationaryplatform 82 which supports three separate supply tanks 83, 84 and 85(Fig. 4). Supply tank 83 is provided with a nipple 86 which extends fromthe bottom thereof through the platform 82 and into the reservoir groove73. The upper end of the nipple 86 is threaded and is provided with aslot 87 through the wall thereof through which the striping fluid maypass from the tank into the nipple. A threaded cap 88 is screwed ontothe threaded end of the nipple 86 and serves to vary the eifective sizeof the slot 87 to thereby meter the flow of the striping fluid throughthe nipple 86 into the groove 73. Tanks 84 and are provided with similarnipples 89 and 90 which extend into the reservoir grooves 74 and 75,respectively. In this manner, up to three different colored stripingfluids may be supplied continuously and simultaneously to the reservoirgrooves 73, 74 and 75 by gravity from the stationary supply tanks 83, 84and 85 while the reservoir member 72 is being rotated. Thus, it is notnecessary to stop the apparatus to replenish the striping fluid, sinceadditional fluids may readily be added to supply tanks 83, 84 and 85 asrequired.

In utilizing the apparatus, the pens 21, 22 and 23 are first adjusted togive the proper clearance between the tips thereof and the wire W toavoid severe shearing action and coagulation of the latex. The tanks 83,84 and 85 are filled with the striping fluid or fluids and the caps 88(only one shown) adjusted to give the proper flow thereof. The wire isfed in the direction of the arrow in Figs. 1 and 2 and the platform 10is rotated. Striping fluid is thereby applied as spiral stripes to theinsulation of the wire W as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Once the stripingoperation is started, there is no necessity of stopping the apparatuseither to replenish the striping fluid or to permit splices or knots inthe wire W to pass therethrough.

Because the striping fluid is applied across a small gap from the pens21, 22 and 23 to the wire W and not by means of wheels or the likedirectly contacting the wire as in the case of other striping apparatusheretofore used, the apparatus of the present invention is particularlyuseful in applying latex stripes to the wire, as the latex is notsubjected to severe shearing action and thus is not caused to coagulateas it is applied to the wire W. As most of the striping fluid is carriedby the stationary supply tanks 83, 84 and 85, separation of the latexand water forming the striping fluid by centrifugal force issubstantially eliminated as the striping fluid is subjected tocentrifugal force only for the short time necessary for it to travelfrom the tanks 83, 84 and 85 to the pens 21, 22 and 23.

The simple tubular shape of the striping pens 21, 22 and 23 permits themto be easily cleaned, and the novel mounting means permits their easyremoval for replacement 'or cleaning.

While the apparatus has been described as used for striping theinsulation or jacket of an electric wire or cable, it is to beunderstood that it can be used for spirally striping various otherelongated articles of circular or approximately circular cross sectionor straight striping elongated articles of almost any cross-sectionalshape.-

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described,but it is to be understood that modifications and changes may be madetherein without departing from the spirit and the scope of theinvention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to protectby Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for striping an elongated article comprising, a stationarybase, a platform rotatably mounted on said base, said platform having anopening therethrough concentric with the axis "of rotation thereof toform a passage for the elongated article, a plurality of arms pivotallymounted on said platform at spaced points around said opening, a tubularstriping pen adjustably mounted on each of said arms for pivotalmovement therewith towards and away from said article, resilient meansengageable with said arms for urging said pens towards said article,means 'engageable with said arms for limiting the extent of pivotalmovement of said pens towards said article a plurality of co-planar andannular, striping fluid reservoirs secured to said platform above saidpens and concentric with said axis of rotation, and separate conduitsinterconnecting each of said pens to each of said reservoirs.

2. Apparatus for striping an elongated article comprising, a stationarybase, a platform rotatably mounted on said base, said platform having anopening therethrough concentric with the axis of rotation thereof toform a passage for the elongated article, a plurality of arms pivotallymounted on said platform at spaced points around said opening, a tubularstriping pen adjustably mounted on each of said arms for pivotalmovement therewith towards and away from said article, resilient meansengageable with said arms for urging said pens towards said article,means engageable with said arms for limiting the extent of pivotalmovement of said pens towards said article, a plurality of co-planar andannular, striping fluid reservoirs secured to said platform above saidpens and concentric with said axis of rotation, separate conduitsinterconnecting each of said pens with each of said reservoirs, aplurality of other arms pivotally mounted on said platform at otherspaced points around said opening, a guide wheel rotatably mounted oneach of said other arms for pivotal movement therewith towards and awayfrom said article, resilient means engageable with said other arms forurging said guide wheels towards and into engagement with said article,and means engageable with said other arms for limiting theextent ofpivotal movement of said guide wheels towards said article.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,044,970 Candy June 23, 1936 2,218,811 Chaussabel Oct. 22, 19402,344,610 Hargraves et al Mar. 21, 1944 2,415,683 Folco Feb. 11, 19472,592,667 Donnan Apr. 15, 1952 2,592,674 Forsberg Apr. 15, 19522,610,607 Isenberg Sept. 16, 1952

